I'll Protect You, Aria
by Sentenced to Burn
Summary: This story takes place right after Jason kisses her. Aria can't deny she felt something. But what about Ezra? Her loving, caring boyfriend who she loves so much. Aria will have to make the choice; Jason or Ezra. Jaria fanfiction.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first fanfiction I've ever written. But, like most others, I was extremely unsatisfied with the way things ended up between Jason and Aria. I feel like the Ezria relationship is just a no-go, if you know what I mean? No offence to anyone who ships them. So, this is just like an AU story; what I wish had happened after the kiss. Feel free to drop your opinion by? And sorry for all the mistakes, I'm working towards editing them.**

 **Oh, and to anyone who actually makes the effort to read this. Thank you so much! I really appreciate it.**

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 **Chapter** **1**

"Aria," Hanna complained, impatiently. "It's getting late, do you want to tell us why you called us here?"

I really wanted to avoid this. But these girls were my best friends, we had sworn to no secrets anymore. I had to tell them about _the kiss._ Why was I so nervous anyways, it wasn't like I had kissed Jason. He had kissed me.

 _But you enjoyed it._

My subconscious self taunted me. I was already confused, why had I enjoyed that kiss so much? I mean, I was _unavailable_. I had a boyfriend, whom I loved more than anything.

"ARIA, you keep phasing out. What's wrong?" Spencer's concerned voice snapped me back to reality.

"Hmm, yes, sorry. So, um, today I saw Jason. And we, er, kissed…?"

 _That was smooth, Aria, reeeal smooth._

Oh god, that sounded wrong. It had come out more of a question rather than a confession. I had planned how I was going to tell them. And _this_ was certainly not what I was going to say. Looking around at the girls, neither of them had said anything yet.

"I mean, he kissed me, not the other way around" I stated, taking advantage of the silence.

Hanna was first to speak; "Wait, what?! The guy's such a creep! Do you want me to go punch him? Or tell him to back the hell off? Or, we could-"

"Hanna, _Hanna_ , chill out a bit." Emily interrupted Hanna's rant. "Aria, go on. What happened anyways? Why were you even talking to Jason?"

Giving Emily a grateful smile. I focused on explaining what had happened.

"The story goes back pretty far" I said, sighing. _Here goes nothing._

"So, you know how my parents haven't really been on good terms lately? Ever since, um you know. Well, Mike, my brother, hasn't been taking their separation very well. He's gotten into a few, uh, _unhealthy obsessions_. It's been really stressful lately. Breaking and entering into random stranger's houses is his new hobby."

As I continued speaking, I felt as if some weight had been taken off my shoulders. It felt better to talk to someone rather than keep everything all bottled up inside me. It was embarrassing. Finding out that Mike had been in charge of all those break ins around town. I sort of felt as if it was my fault as much as my parents, I mean; I should have handled the situation before it became a problem. But it was too late for that now.

Looking around, I felt a little lifted, seeing expressions of concern and worry rather then judgmental stares.

"Look, Aria, its okay. We're all here for you. You can tell us anything, we won't judge. I mean, we all have our secrets." Spencer comforted me, with the ghost of a smile on her face. As if she was remembering a bittersweet memory.

Finding the courage to continue speaking; I wiped away the tears. Sitting up straight, I closed my eyes.

"Then, just the other day Jason caught Mike trying to break into his house. I don't know why, but he didn't report it to the police."

"The guy probably has some ulterior motive or something. I mean, come on! This is Jason we're talking about here!" Hanna pressed.

Before, I would have agreed. I mean, I'm not kidding when I say Jason was intimidating. But I felt as if I had seen another side of him. A vulnerable side; one he never showed to anyone else. And what had I done? Slammed the door in his face. Made excuses to avoid him. Told him I was unavailable.

"Aria, you keep getting lost in your own world. Are you sure everything's okay? I mean, if this is about Jason, just ignore him. He'll take a hint eventually; the guy isn't stupid." Spencer's strong voice aided.

"So, I'm going to head off now. My mom's expecting me back early tonight, she wants to go out for dinner as a family." Hanna said, rolling her eyes.

I watched as all the girls got up, gathering their belongings they started walking towards the door.

"Oh, yeah, I'm sorry. I've just got a lot to deal with these days. I'm just tired; I think I'll go to bed early." I said, rubbing my eyes. "I'll see you all in school tomorrow. Goodnight. Oh, and thank you for understanding"

Turning towards me, I see them all smile back at me one by one before exiting through the door.

 _Well, that wasn't a complete lie._

They were many problems on my plate. My parent's separation and Mike ' _habits'_ had been one thing. But, now there was this. It was confusing, what had Jason meant.

 _The truth is I care about you. And I wanted to tell you in the off-chance that you might feel the same way._

I mean, why me? We had hardly ever spoken. Back in those days, when Alison was still alive, I may have had a little crush on him. I'm pretty sure all of us had. He was the tall, handsome older brother. But that's all he had ever been: Ali's older brother who she had, had a crush on.

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"Aria! Aria, wait up!" I heard Spencer's breathless voice fill my ears.

"Spencer…? Are you okay? You're gasping like you just rand a five kilometer marathon." I said, looking up at Spencer's tall figure standing before me gasping for air.

"It sure feels like it…" I heard Spencer mumble, more to herself, then to me. "Okay, look Aria, I know you think Jason isn't that bad of a guy but you need to stay away from him. Hanna was right, he's a creep"

"Wait, what are you talking about? Spencer?" I asked, confused. She had been completely okay with being friends with Jason just yesterday.

"Look, we knew he was hiding something in that shed of his. So, just yesterday we went to check it out and you won't believe what we found; they were tens, hundreds of pictures of you!"

What was she talking about? Pictures of… me? Why would Jason have pictures of me in his shed? Voicing my thoughts, I waited, bemusedly, for an answer.

"They guy has some weird pedophilic obsession with you! He takes pictures of you while you SLEEP. Oh god, I'm going to be sick. The thought of him being in your bedroom, while you're sleeping." She broke off, looking disgusted. "You know what, I have to get to class, I'll talk to you later. STAY. AWAY. FROM. JASON." Spencer said before strolling of towards the school building.

I think I'm just about in shock now. Jason. The Jason that I _used_ to have a crush on. A stalker? No, no, no, I couldn't be so quick to believe in what I hear. I wasn't going to be so naïve. I'm going to ask the man in question - myself.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Any reviews? Suggestions? Ideas?**

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 **Chapter 2**

My movement was sped up, I couldn't wait to see if what Spencer said was true or not. My mind was telling me to stay away from Jason – that he was dangerous.

But there was this even bigger part of me that believed that Jason wasn't all that bad. That he was simply just misunderstood. I felt as if we were holding him to his previous mistakes. Like all of us, Hanna, Emily, Spencer and I, were all assuming him to be the same stoned high school delinquent he used to be back in the Alison days. It felt wrong. It was obvious, the second we saw him that he had changed. I mean, it had been a year since Alison's disappearance; we all had changed to some extent. All of us had sobered up; we had become newer, possibly better human beings. And though no one saw it, so had Jason.

But then there is Ezra. And he's like the perfect boyfriend. The kind all of your friends look at, and are jealous. He is what Hanna would call 'boyfriend goals'. I mean, Ezra is sweet, caring, reliable, loyal and most of all; he loves me. And I love him.

Though, it seemed nowadays that I rarely saw him. He was all caught up in work; the new book he was working on. And, as much as I really wanted to say something, I don't want to feel like the clingy, jealous girlfriend.

And then there's the 'not being able to go out in public' issue. It's so frustrating sometimes. When, you just want to go out and enjoy ice cream or get have a nice dinner in some restaurant. Ever since I met Ezra, my life has turned into a series of lies, hiding and _secrets._ And I can't help but resent that. I want to be able to show off my boyfriend. I want him to be able to have family dinners. I want to be able to enjoy a date without worrying about who may be watching. And at times it got so bad, I came quite near breaking up with Ezra. But, I realize how selfish that would be…

 _But if you were with Jason then maybe things would be different…_

Oh god, what is with my subconscious? I have a boyfriend. I don't even like Jason that way. Or at least, it's just a crush. Nothing more.

As, I finally reached Jason's house. I advanced towards the door. What was I planning on saying anyways?

 _Hey, my friends think you killed your sister so they broke into your shed to find out what you're hiding in there instead they found pictures of me sleeping. What's the deal with that?_

Okay, no, that so wasn't working. He'd really hate us after that, if he didn't already that is. Ahh, I give up. I'll just go along with the flow. Let's see how that goes.

I brought my hand forward and knocked. Taking a step back, I waited nervously for someone to open the door.

Almost immediately, the door flew open in one swift movement and there Jason stood, right in front of me.

Gulping nervously, why hadn't I planned this out?

"Well, hello Aria," Jason said, slightly surprised that I was standing at his house entrance. Ever since the kiss. Ever since I had rejected him, things had been slightly awkward.

"Er, hi, Jason," I stuttered, tensely.

"What? Don't tell me you are still scared of me." He said, jokingly, though there was a slight tinge of hurt to it.

"Me? Of course not! Pfft, why would I be, um, scared of you? It's not like you're kind of really intimidating and all. Not at all." I ranted on, extremely nervous. Even if I didn't fully believe what Spencer had said, I was still on the guard.

I watched as Jason took a step forward, sighing. "What do you want, Aria?"

 _Hey, I miss that pink hair_

"So, I was talking to, um, Spencer today and she said that she found pictures of me in your shed. Pictures of me sleeping. Why? Why do you have pictures of me, Jason?"

I watched as his casual expression gave hints of surprise and betrayal. "So, it was your friends who broke into the shed? I should've known no one trusts anyone here. I thought you were better, Aria. I thought you were different."

He was looking at me with an expression full of hurt.

"Then what, Jason? Where did those pictures come from?" I asked, working hard on keeping my voice from cracking.

"Ali took those pictures. Back when you used to do sleepovers, she was really into artistic photography. I didn't even know myself, till I found the film roll down in the basement. I was going to get them framed and give them to you."

I watched as Jason's expression changed when he talked about Alison. It was only in that moment when I realized how bad it must be for him. In only a year, he had lost not only his mother, but his sister as well. And no matter how much he hid it, I knew he was also hurting, deep down inside. Just like all of us. I felt really bad now.

"Look Jason, I'm sorry. It's just things looked pretty bad for you. I didn't really believe Spencer, that's why I came to ask you. I'm sorry, okay?" I say feeling my eyes burn, I was close to tears. I looked down at my feet, trying to avoid his harsh gaze.

"Aria, ARIA, it's okay. Don't be sorry. I'm sorry I over reacted. How about I make it up to you? Lunch, day after tomorrow, after school?" He asked me, I felt the softness in the voice. The vulnerability in his voice. It begged me not to turn him down.

"I think I have something–-." I stopped. I had to give Jason a chance. I mean, Ezra probably won't even notice I have other plans. He's too busy. I thought with slight resentment. "Wait, you know what? I'll go wit you, how's four day after tomorrow, at the café across the street work for you?"

Finally looking up, I saw Jason's whole face light up. A sparkle tinkling his eyes. He looked adorable when he was happy. I felt my heart do a back flip. "Sure, let's call it a date!" Jason said, chuckling happily, leaning forward he kissed my forehead whispering "I'll see you there" into my ear.

Resisting the urge to shiver, I gave him a smile. His happiness was contagious. Just as I was about to turn around, and make my way home. I heard a car pull up into the driveway. Whipping around, I looked in their direction. Spotting the driver, I stiffened when I realized who it was. Ezra was stepping out of the car, marching up towards me. I felt my inside deflate a bit. Why did he have to come right now?

WAIT. What was I saying? Of course I wanted to see Ezra. I mean, I love him for God's sake.

The silence soon gone when I heard Ezra's pissed voice say "ARIA! Do you know how worried I was?! I got a call from Spencer saying that you were meeting up with this psychopath right here. Haven't I told you before, STAY. AWAY. FROM. JASON!" He all but shouted in my face. Rather then feeling guilt, I felt anger course through my veins. How dare he call Jason a psychopath right in front of him?

He had no right to march up here all angry. I mean, the past few weeks had been a series of rescheduled dates, ignorance's and heartbreak. It seemed Ezra was way too busy to even have a civil conversation. And when magically did find time, all he talked about was his new story or some student's that had just joined his class. It seemed he had no time for me anymore. And you know what? I was so done with this. I wanted an end to all the secrets, all the hiding around, I wanted something real – something solid.

Suddenly I was knocked out of my thoughts with the feeling of someone shaking me. Zapping back to reality, I realized Ezra was now shaking with anger and had grabbed my arm; viciously shaking me. My arm throbbed in pain. And I cried out for him to stop. My Ezra, what happened to my Ezra. He was never the abusive type. He was always so gentle, so caring, so loving.

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME? I FORBID YOU TO EVER TALK TO JASON AGAIN." He yelled at me. Still keeping a firm grip on my arm.

And then abruptly, it just stopped. I could no longer feel his hold on my now swollen arm. I could no longer hear Ezra's screaming. And for a few seconds it was silent. I looked up, only to realize Jason was standing above me. His heavy breathing clothing my hearing, I saw blood dripping down his fists. What the…?

I heard Ezra groan from the ground. Blood trickling down his nose, as held a hand over his mouth. Oh.

OH. Realization hit me. Jason had punched Ezra. Jason had saved me.

"YOU'LL REGRET THAT, YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" Ezra face marked anger, as he stomped back to his car, glaring heavily at Jason. Yanking the door open, he got in the car, driving off.

I felt myself relax a bit, my legs going limp. I can't believe that just happened. I prepared m self for the shock as I hit the ground. Only to feel Jason's strong arms wrap around me, as I cry. Letting Jason's arm protect me.

I block out my surroundings. I block out my thoughts. Allowing my mind to go black. As I lose consciousness, I hear Jason's soft voice mumble; "I'll protect you, Aria. I always will. With me, you've got nothing to be afraid of. I love you."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I finally finished this chapter. I wanted to make it perfect, so it took longer then usual. I had to update, edit and improve this chapter. I hope ya'll like it. And again, thank you for getting this far!**

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 **Chapter 3**

My head hurt.

I had just woken up to a throbbing head, slowly rubbing my temple. I let my body relax, falling back into bed.

Flashbacks of yesterday clouded my thoughts. Ezra's anger. My heart clenched, at the thought of Ezra.

Turns out he wasn't the person I had thought him to be. A part of me was glad for yesterday, at least I had seen the light before I did anything stupid.

 _Stupid? Like, move in with him. Wasn't that your plan?_

Anger coursed through me. It was like suddenly I wasn't blind anymore. I was able to see Ezra how everyone else did, I wasn't blinded by my love for him.

The truth was I could never truly be happy with Ezra. He offered a life full of lies, stress and worries. Sure, I'll admit, we did have fun sometimes. But overall what had our relationship brought either of us? Because it sure as hell wasn't happiness.

Ezra deserved someone like Jackie, someone similar to him. Someone who could quench his needs as well as be his equal. Truth be told, we didn't have anything in common. It was just the thrill of the having a proscriptive relationship that made me strive to continue with their association. And, yes I admit, it was sort of selfish, but there was nothing to be done now.

He had always be way too attached to his work anyways. Sometimes, I doubt he even loved me. I mean, he had only said "I love you" when I had threatened to break up with him. He had only taken me out on dates when I was being moody or was upset. He had only bothered to come _talk_ to me, after weeks and weeks of ignoring me, when I had started hanging out with Jason.

It's like, the more I think about it, the more obvious it is. Ezra doesn't love me. And as much as it hurts to say this, it's true; he doesn't. He never did.

I think, for him, I was just a rebound. He had given Jackie his heart and all she had ripped it apart. He had loved her. And I'm going to take a guess and say he still does. And, if so, I wasn't going to stand around being abused, being used because he wanted someone to take his feelings out on. This needed to end.

My hands shaking, I reached for my phone. No doubts, this was going to be painful. Because, even if he hadn't loved me, I still love him.

 _This is for your own good, Aria._

My subconscious mind was annoying. Though it was true most of the time, it was annoying.

Phone in hand, I entered in the text:

 **Ezra, I'm sorry, but I think we need to break up ~ Aria**

Pressing send, I felt my whole body shake in relief. This relationship had ended a long time ago, I just needed to finalize that.

I waited nervously for what he might text back, or if he would even bother to. He was probably with Jackie, anyways. I thought bitterly before pushing myself off the bed and heading towards the bathroom.

After taking a long, needed, shower. I stepped out of the bathroom stalking over to my wardrobe closet. Flipping through my clothes, I finalized on a dark purple top, some black ripped jeans along with a pair of heavy black combat boots. To complete the look I pulled on a dark leather jacket. I did my makeup, putting on thick layers of eye liner; I was going for the dark, mysterious girl look.

Sneaking a look at the clock, I saw it was 6:45 am, school didn't start till 8:00. These days, things were a little tough at home. With Mike being all moody, mom giving dad the cold shoulder and dad trying to make things right between us. My house wasn't really a ball of sunshine.

Lately, I had been leaving the house hours early, in attempt to avoid my family. So, here I was at 6:45 all dressed up and ready to go.

Usually I would just go hang by the park by school, waiting for school to start, but not today. I needed to go see Jason. I needed to find out what happened, my memory was a collection of faded parts; I remember Ezra grabbing my arm, I remember him screaming at me, next thing I knew there was blood all over the floor, then everything went black. And here I wake up in my own bed.

I needed answers.

Slowly creeping out of my room, I wrote a quick note:

 **Mom, dad, I need to do a bit of research at the library for a history project, be back late. Love, Aria.**

Leaving the note on the kitchen table. I grabbed my school bag and tip toed towards that door.

Jason's house was near to mine, at least a walking distance away. That was the good part about Rosewood city; it's a small town. You don't need to have a car to get around easily.

It took me about ten minutes before I finally reached the DiLaurentis residence. I had always loved their cozy little home. I loved the neat architecture, the way the colors all blended together perfectly.

It was only after Alison's death that I started seeing the DiLaurentis house differently; it became a sign of sorrow. Every time I even looked at it, old memories would flash by to the time Alison was still alive and well. It hurt so much to even think about her now.

Feeling a sudden downfall feeling, I slouched towards the house, thinking about how normal things would be if Alison had never been killed. Imagine life with no A.

Knocking on the door, I got a sense of déjà vo. Hadn't I done exactly the same thing yesterday?

 _How did that end?_

Pushing aside my inner thoughts I l waited. Hearing

"Aria? What are you doing here? Are you okay? I mean, shouldn't you be resting? After what happened yesterday."

Spinning around, I saw Jason standing there, hands in pocket, shirtless. My eyes scanned across his body.

 _He sure is fit…_

I shook myself out of thought. What was I doing? I was so not checking Jason DiLaurentis out, moments ago. What was wrong with me?

Looking back up to Jason's face, concern laced his blunt features. Clearing my throat, I answered his questions one by one.

"Um, yeah, about that. I'm fine, really. I just can't really remember much of what happened yesterday. I was hoping you could, um, you know…?"

Ugh, I cursed in my head. Why was I always so nervous around him? Why do I constantly stutter? And for God's sake, why are my palms so sweaty?

Jason looked at, sighing in partial relief, he walked towards me.

"Yeah, sure, let's go inside first."

I followed him as he led me down the corridor to the living room, looking around. Not much had changed since I last saw the tiny house. The walls were covered in old childhood photographs, you could see the young smiling faces of the whole DiLaurentis family. Wild decorations hung from the ceilings, Mrs. DiLaurentis had always been into crazy set ups.

Picking up my pace, I caught up to Jason.  
"I don't see how you can still bear ( **A/N: Or is it bare?** ) to actually live here. All those memories of Alison. It must be terrible."

I stared directly into Jason's face, his eyebrows furrowed and for a second he looked vulnerable. As f he too was remembering all the happy memories he had with his sister.

"I guess it is unbearable sometimes, but it's not like I have much of a choice." Jason finally said, shrugging his shoulders.

We finally reached the living room. I had been here several times, though it was only with Alison. Back in those days, I had never really talked to Jason. I had watched Alison taunt him, I had helped her steal his things, I had helped her spy on him. But I had only helped her. I never really wanted to, it just felt… wrong. I mean, sure, I didn't approve of Jason smoking weed. But we had no right to invade his privacy and steal his stuff.

"So, Aria, you still on for tomorrow?" He asked me, a tinge of hope detectable.

"Yes! Of course." I said, maybe a little too eagerly.

"Oh, good," Jason breathed out. "I'm guessing you want to know what happened after Ezra showed up here, and why he was so angry?"

Thinking about it, I replied.

"Yeah, I mean Ezra isn't usually that angry, I was just wondering what got him all riled up?"

"Well, Ezra and I have a long history together. We used to attend the same high school back when I was still young," Jason said chuckling. "As you probably know, I wasn't really the goody-two shoes back in high school. I got into a lot of fights, I took drugs and I had a few friends who were part of a gang"

I remembered. Back when we used to do sleepovers at Alison's house, you could often see Jason sneaking out. And, all those days with Alison spent spying on him we had all seen a thing or two. Drugs, dangerous people, and alcohol seemed to be all Jason was into back then.

"Yes, I remember. So, why does Ezra hate you so much?" I asked, curious to find the answer.

"Well, let's just say that gang members don't take kindly to being ratted out by the high school nerd. Short story; I was part of the gang, Ezra was the nerd." Jason stated solemnly, but there was still reminiscence of a smile. As if he found the whole thing amusing, and I'm guessing to some extent it probably was.

"But seriously, the guy sure knows how to keep a grudge, it's been nearly four years now" Jason added.

"Wow" I said, slightly fascinated. Ezra had never told me about any of this.

"I hope this doesn't change the way you see me. I mean, I've changed. At least I made the effort to." Jason said quickly.

He was shifting around nervously, waiting for my take on the whole thing. It was the first time I had ever seen Jason even slightly shaken. My opinion of him must mean a lot.

"No, no, Jason. It's cool, that all happened ages ago, you're… different now." I comforted him, thinking by each word slowly.

"Are you calling me old? Age ago. What's that supposed to mean?" Jason questioned mocking being offended. Though I knew him well enough to know he was secretly relieved I hadn't started hating him.

"Oh, and Jason, I have um, one more question?" I said, nervous about what I was about to ask him. Was it a part of my dream.

"Of course, Aria, you can ask me anything," Jason answered soothingly.

Taking a deep breath, I felt my cheeks flush red.

"So, um, before I blacked out I remember hearing you say "I love you" and I was just wondering if, um, you–-." Pausing, I could actually feel my heart thumping in my chest. My face was now bright red; just like a big fat tomato. "You know what. Never mind." I eventually said. It was probably a dream or something, of course Jason doesn't love me.

Jason looked as if he really wanted to say something but decided against it. Or at least that's what I think was the case. He kept opening his mouth and then shutting it. He probably thought I was some sort of weirdo now.

 _That's just great. Good going._

Oh god, why did I bring this up anyways? I was such an idiot. Trying to make the situation a little less awkward I opened my mouth.

"Oh, it's probably just my imagination. Forget I said anything. I mean, I was half unconscious anyways." I said, smoothly, with a smile on my face.

Jason was staring directly into my eyes, not saying anything. It was killing me. I resisted the urge to scream "say something" at him.

 _It's not like you could make this situation any more awkward._

As if answering my prayers Jason finally spoke. "What you said. Do you want it to be a dream, Aria?"  
His question took me by surprise; of course I didn't want it to be true. But there was a part of me that ached for this to be true. A part of me that wanted Jason's love. I couldn't deny that much.

I was confused.

So, I did the only thing I could think of in this situation. I grabbed my bag. Jerked up, and made a run for the front door. Quickly looking back, avoiding Jason's face, I yelled a swift; "I got to go, I'm going to be late for school."

Then I got the hell out of there.

 _You're such an idiot, Aria._


End file.
